Richard Bland (golfer)

English professional golfer

Richard Bland

Personal information
Nickname| Blandy, Dickie B[1]
Born|  (1973-02-03) 3 February 1973 (age 52)
Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England
Height| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Sporting nationality|  England
Residence| Southampton, Hampshire, England
Spouse|

Catrin Nystrom Bland

(m. 2022)​

Career
Turned professional| 1996
Current tour(s)| LIV Golf
Former tour(s)| European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins| 4
Highest ranking| 48 (3 April 2022)[2]
(as of 11 May 2025)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour| 1
Challenge Tour| 1
PGA Tour Champions| 2
European Senior Tour| 2
Best results in major championships

Masters Tournament| DNP
PGA Championship| CUT: 2022
U.S. Open| T43: 2022
The Open Championship| T22: 2017

Richard Bland (born 3 February 1973) is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. In 2021, he became the oldest first-time winner on the European Tour when he won the Betfred British Masters aged 48. He also won two senior major championships in 2024; the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open.

## Career

[edit]

Bland was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. He turned professional in 1996 and reached the final stage of the European Tour's qualifying school in 1997 to gain his card on Europe's second tier Challenge Tour for 1998. In 2001 he won for the first time, at the season ending Challenge Tour Grand Final. The win elevated him in the rankings sufficiently to gain a place on the European Tour for 2002.[3]

During his first season on the European Tour, Bland’s best tournament finish was a tie for 2nd place at the Murphy's Irish Open, losing in a playoff, and ended the year in 73rd place on the Order of Merit. In subsequent seasons, he failed to win enough money to maintain his card on the European Tour several times but regained his playing status each time, via the Challenge Tour rankings in 2004, 2008, and 2019, and via qualifying school in 2007 and 2011.[4]

In May 2021, in his 478th start on the European Tour, Bland achieved his first victory at the Betfred British Masters. At age 48, he became the oldest first-time winner on the European Tour; only Malcolm MacKenzie, with 509, had played more tournaments before claiming his first win on the tour.[5] In June 2021, Bland played in the U.S. Open for just the second time in his career. At 48 years old, he became the oldest player to ever hold a share of the lead of the U.S. Open after two rounds,[6][7] however he fell back over the weekend to finish in a tie for 50th.[8] With eight top-10 finishes during the 2021 European Tour season, Bland finished a career-best 11th place on the Race to Dubai rankings.[9]

In January 2022, Bland finished as runner-up at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, losing to Viktor Hovland in a playoff.[10]

Being just outside the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking in March 2022, Bland looked to find form in order to qualify for the Masters Tournament. He won his group at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, halving with Bryson DeChambeau as well as beating Talor Gooch and Lee Westwood along the way. However, he was defeated in the last 16 by Dustin Johnson, ultimately just missing out on progressing to the Top 50.[11] Bland made his full PGA Tour debut the following week at the Valero Texas Open, needing a victory to get into The Masters. He recorded a Top-30 finish, seeing him move to a highest ranking of 48th.[12]

In June 2022, Bland joined the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series.[13] He was subsequently subject to fines and suspension from the European Tour for playing without a conflicting event release. After those sanctions were upheld by an independent arbitrator, in May 2023, the European Tour announced that he had resigned his membership of the tour.[14]

### Senior career

[edit]

In May 2023, Bland applied for entry to the 2023 Senior Open Championship, to be played in late July, for which he had fulfilled one exemption category as a former European Tour winner being at the exact age of 50 years at the time of the championship. However, Bland was denied entry due to outstanding fines to the European Tour, related to breaching conflicting tournament regulations.[15]

In May 2024, Bland won his first senior major at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.[16] In July 2024, he won his second senior major, defeating Hiroyuki Fujita in a playoff to win the U.S. Senior Open.[17] In a quest to complete the "Bland Slam" (winning all senior majors in which he was eligible for), Bland was unable to enter The Senior Open Championship at the end of July at Carnoustie. Having not paid outstanding fines to the European Tour (DP World Tour), as the case in 2023, Bland was again denied entry to play.[18]

## Amateur wins

[edit]

* 1994 European Under 21 Championship

## Professional wins (4)

[edit]

### European Tour wins (1)

[edit]

No.  | Date  | Tournament  | Winning score  | Margin of
victory  | Runner-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 15 May 2021 | Betfred British Masters | −13 (68-69-72-66=275)  | Playoff  |  Guido Migliozzi

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 2002 | Murphy's Irish Open |  Niclas Fasth,  Darren Fichardt,
Søren Hansen | Hansen won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Bland eliminated by birdie on second hole
2  | 2021 | Betfred British Masters |  Guido Migliozzi | Won with par on first extra hole
3  | 2022 | Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic |  Viktor Hovland | Lost to birdie on first extra hole

### Challenge Tour wins (1)

[edit]

Legend

Tour Championships (1)
Other Challenge Tour (0)
No.  | Date  | Tournament  | Winning score  | Margin of
victory  | Runner-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 4 Nov 2001 | Challenge Tour Grand Final | −18 (69-68-66-63=266)  | 5 strokes  |  Philip Golding

### PGA Tour Champions wins (2)

[edit]

Legend

Senior major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour Champions (0)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of
victory | Runner-up

|
|
|
|
|

1  | 26 May 2024 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | −17 (64-66-74-63=267)  | 3 strokes  |  Richard Green
2  | 1 Jul 2024  | U.S. Senior Open | −13 (68-64-69-66=267)  | Playoff  |  Hiroyuki Fujita

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0)

No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result

|
|
|
|

1  | 2024 | U.S. Senior Open |  Hiroyuki Fujita | Won with par on second extra hole after two-hole aggregate playoff;
Bland: E (4-4=8),
Fujita: E (4-4=8)

## Results in major championships

[edit]

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament  | 1998  | 1999

|
|

Masters Tournament |  |
U.S. Open |  |
The Open Championship | CUT  |
PGA Championship |  |
Tournament  | 2000  | 2001  | 2002  | 2003  | 2004  | 2005  | 2006  | 2007  | 2008  | 2009

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | CUT
The Open Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
PGA Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Tournament  | 2010  | 2011  | 2012  | 2013  | 2014  | 2015  | 2016  | 2017 | 2018

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
The Open Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | T22  |
PGA Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Tournament  | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Masters Tournament |  |  |  |  |  |  |
PGA Championship |  |  |  | CUT  |  |  |
U.S. Open |  |  | T50  | T43  |  |  |
The Open Championship |  | NT  | T67  | CUT  | T33  |  |

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

## Results in World Golf Championships

[edit]

Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Championship |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Match Play |  |  |  |  | NT1 |  | R16
Invitational |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Champions | T30  |  |  |  | NT1 | NT1 | NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Top 10

Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

## Senior major championships

[edit]

### Wins (2)

[edit]

Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up

|
|
|
|
|

2024 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | 1 shot deficit | −17 (64-66-74-63=267) | 3 strokes |  Richard Green
2024 | U.S. Senior Open | 5 shot deficit | −13 (68-64-69-66=267) | Playoff |  Hiroyuki Fujita

### Results timeline

[edit]

Tournament | 2024

|

The Tradition |
Senior PGA Championship | 1
U.S. Senior Open | 1
Senior Players Championship |
The Senior Open Championship |

Win

Did not play

## Team appearances

[edit]

Amateur

* European Youths' Team Championship (representing England): 1994[19]

## See also

[edit]

* 2007 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
* 2008 Challenge Tour graduates
* 2011 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
* 2019 Challenge Tour graduates

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cleeks GC [@cleeks_gc] (7 October 2024). "Another beauty from Dickie B". Retrieved 23 February 2025 - via Instagram.
2. ^ "Week 14 2022 Ending 3 Apr 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
3. ^ Graham, Tim (4 November 2001). "Italian Open: Roe secures final fling". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
4. ^ Camenker, Jacob (19 June 2021). "Who is Richard Bland? Meet the 48-year-old Englishman tied for the US Open lead". Sporting News Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
5. ^ "British Masters: Richard Bland claims first victory at 478th attempt after play-off at The Belfry". Sky Sports. 15 May 2021.
6. ^ "Richard Bland excites Torrey Pines to become oldest 36-hole leader in US Open history". Guardian. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
7. ^ Hart, Jay (18 June 2021). "Richard Bland is leading the way at the U.S. Open ... wait, who?". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
8. ^ "U.S. Open - Leaderboard Thursday, June 17 - Sunday, June 20, 2021 San Diego, CA". PGA Tour. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
9. ^ "Oscar Jacobson Congratulates Richard Bland On Career Best Season". Golf Business News. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
10. ^ "Viktor Hovland Downs Richard Bland in Playoff to Win Dubai Desert Classic". SI.com. Associated Press. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
11. ^ Hoggard, Rex (26 March 2022). "Richard Bland's magical run at Match Play is over, but his Masters dreams aren't". Golf Channel. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
12. ^ Cradock, Matt (4 April 2022). "Richard Bland Moves Inside World's Top-50 For Very First Time". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
13. ^ Shreiber, Max (18 May 2022). "Report: Richard Bland OK with possible ban by DP World Tour for playing LIV events". Golf Channel. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
14. ^ Dempster, Martin (3 May 2023). "LIV Golf quartet, including Lee Westwood, resign as DP World Tour members". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
15. ^ Cradock, Mike (15 June 2023). "Lee Westwood And Richard Bland Denied Entry To Senior Open". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
16. ^ Chivers, Matt (26 May 2024). "LIV Golf's Richard Bland wins Senior PGA Championship". National Club Golfer. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
17. ^ Lusk, Jason (1 July 2024). "LIV's Richard Bland outlasts Hiroyuki Fujita in four-hole playoff at U.S. Senior Open". Golfweek. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
18. ^ Priest, Evin (12 July 2024). "Sudden senior star Richard Bland caught in strange spot as LIV golfer, can't play in Senior British Open". Australian Golf Digest. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
19. ^ "EGA Events, Results, European Team Championships, European Youths' Team Championship". European Golf Association. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Richard Bland at the European Tour official site
* Richard Bland at the PGA Tour official site
* Richard Bland at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

* v
* t
* e

Senior PGA Championship champions

* 1980 Arnold Palmer†
* 1981 Miller Barber
* 1982 Don January
* 1983 Not held
* 1984 (Jan) Arnold Palmer
* 1984 (Dec) Peter Thomson
* 1985 Not held
* 1986 Gary Player
* 1987 Chi-Chi Rodríguez
* 1988 Gary Player
* 1989 Larry Mowry
* 1990 Gary Player
* 1991 Jack Nicklaus
* 1992 Lee Trevino
* 1993 Tom Wargo†
* 1994 Lee Trevino
* 1995 Raymond Floyd
* 1996 Hale Irwin
* 1997 Hale Irwin
* 1998 Hale Irwin
* 1999 Allen Doyle
* 2000 Doug Tewell
* 2001 Tom Watson
* 2002 Fuzzy Zoeller
* 2003 John Jacobs
* 2004 Hale Irwin
* 2005 Mike Reid†
* 2006 Jay Haas†
* 2007 Denis Watson
* 2008 Jay Haas
* 2009 Michael Allen
* 2010 Tom Lehman†
* 2011 Tom Watson†
* 2012 Roger Chapman
* 2013 Kōki Idoki
* 2014 Colin Montgomerie
* 2015 Colin Montgomerie
* 2016 Rocco Mediate
* 2017 Bernhard Langer
* 2018 Paul Broadhurst
* 2019 Ken Tanigawa
* 2020 Not held
* 2021 Alex Čejka
* 2022 Steven Alker
* 2023 Steve Stricker†
* 2024 Richard Bland

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

* v
* t
* e

U.S. Senior Open champions

* 1980 Roberto De Vicenzo
* 1981 Arnold Palmer†
* 1982 Miller Barber
* 1983 Billy Casper†
* 1984 Miller Barber
* 1985 Miller Barber
* 1986 Dale Douglass
* 1987 Gary Player
* 1988 Gary Player†
* 1989 Orville Moody
* 1990 Lee Trevino
* 1991 Jack Nicklaus†
* 1992 Larry Laoretti
* 1993 Jack Nicklaus
* 1994 Simon Hobday
* 1995 Tom Weiskopf
* 1996 Dave Stockton
* 1997 Graham Marsh
* 1998 Hale Irwin
* 1999 Dave Eichelberger
* 2000 Hale Irwin
* 2001 Bruce Fleisher
* 2002 Don Pooley†
* 2003 Bruce Lietzke
* 2004 Peter Jacobsen
* 2005 Allen Doyle
* 2006 Allen Doyle
* 2007 Brad Bryant
* 2008 Eduardo Romero
* 2009 Fred Funk
* 2010 Bernhard Langer
* 2011 Olin Browne
* 2012 Roger Chapman
* 2013 Kenny Perry
* 2014 Colin Montgomerie†
* 2015 Jeff Maggert
* 2016 Gene Sauers
* 2017 Kenny Perry
* 2018 David Toms
* 2019 Steve Stricker
* 2020 Not held
* 2021 Jim Furyk
* 2022 Pádraig Harrington
* 2023 Bernhard Langer
* 2024 Richard Bland

† indicates the event was won in a playoff
*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template